Featured events- 03/10/2012 - Ton Koopman & The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
- 02/27/2012 - Classical at the Freight: Rossini Birthday Celebration
- 02/23/2012 - Michio Kaku: Physics of the Future, How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100
- 02/23/2012 - 2012: a Turning Point? And If So, Which Way?: A Talk by Robert Reich
- 02/19/2012 - Takacs Quartet
Category Archives: Green
Farm-to-fork tours spotlight local green businesses
Three years ago, Marissa LaMagna started Bay Area Green Tours, a nonprofit, shoestring operation now headquartered in the David Brower Center (and largely staffed by eager, eco-conscious, unpaid interns) because she wanted to showcase the best sustainable farms and food, buildings and businesses, energy practices and employment opportunities in Berkeley and beyond.
The green tour business with a biodiesel bus takes people from near and far to see for themselves and hear the stories behind successful sustainable enterprises … Continue reading »
Speed dating for veggies: A report from the frontlines
What, pray tell, does one wear to a speed dating event for vegetarians, vegans, and the veg-curious searching for their perfect match?
This reporter flirted with donning her son’s “Meat is Murder” T-shirt, which felt a tad obvious and then promptly opted for her typical uniform (jeans, shirt, boots, all sans slogans) and headed to the vegetarian Saturn Café, the site of the meatless speed dating meetup.
Since said reporter is both 1. single and 2. vegetarian (as long … Continue reading »
Berkeley sites for Lab’s second campus in the spotlight
As the Berkeley Lab rolls into town this week to hold three public meetings about a second campus, there has been a lot of speculation about which community will be the best cheerleader. The bar has already been set high: Richmond had drummers and dancers perform at its meeting, Oakland put forward its mayor, and Alameda had a packed house.
But a curious thing happened in each community meeting. Instead of the cities wooing the Lab, the Lab … Continue reading »
Book details secret staircases of Berkeley and Oakland
Staircases saved Charles Fleming’s back.
In 2006, as he faced his third invasive spinal surgery, Fleming decided to walk. A longtime Los Angeles resident with a slew of best-selling books to his name, Fleming had his wife drive him down from their hilltop home in the Silver Lake district to the flats. He got out and took a few steps, which led to a few more, which led him to start walking up and down the public staircases that meander through that city’s hills. Soon the pain was gone and Fleming was a walking convert.
The excursions led to Fleming’s next bestseller, a book on the secret stairs of Los Angeles. It proved so popular that he decided to write a sequel, this time about the secret stairs of the East Bay. … Continue reading »
Lemons, loquats and greens: Berkeley crop swap kicks off
As predicted by Berkeleyside readers, lemons were, indeed, in abundant supply at the first Berkeley Crop Swap organized by Transition Berkeley Monday night at Ohlone Park.
Under a fog-filled sky there wasn’t a ripe tomato in sight, though you could pick up tomato starts. Nonetheless, a couple of dozen local residents happily exchanged home-grown goodies that thrive in this micro-climate in July.
People perused two folding tables and a couple of blankets with freshly harvested produce and then filled their baskets and bags with plums and purple potatoes and gave away basil and beet greens. True to their roots, along with kitchen staples such as carrots, strawberries, and rosemary, Berkeley growers showed up with some less well-known produce including loquats, grape leaves, and angelica.
Heads up homesteaders: Crop swap launches in Berkeley
It’s that time of year when the abundance from a backyard vegetable garden can be a tad prolific. How many zucchini squash can one family eat? Or perhaps your produce problem comes from human error: you simply planted way too many onions and not enough greens.
Help is on the way. Beginning next Monday night the people behind the newly formed grassroots group Transition Berkeley invite residents to share their harvest at a Crop Swap in the public park next to the Ohlone Greenway on Sacramento Street.
It couldn’t be simpler: you show up with your freshly harvested lettuces or lemons and share or swap them for some plums or potatoes. That’s it. No money changes hands.
Berkeley is just one of a grassroots network of more than 300 transition towns around the globe organizing their communities to become more resilient, self-reliant and sustainable. In keeping with that philosophy, the Berkeley coalition, which numbers 80 members and counting, encourages locals to lower their carbon footprint, grow food close to home, pool resources, reduce their use of fossil fuels and foster community. Such behaviors are critical, transition advocates say, to facing challenges such as climate change, oil dependency and depletion, and a persistent economic downturn. … Continue reading »
Faith-based urban farm opens in Berkeley
Sunday marked the grand opening of Urban Adamah, the first faith-based, modern urban farm in West Berkeley, at 1050 Parker Street near San Pablo Avenue, opposite Fantasy Studios. The one-acre farm with Jewish roots offers a residential fellowship program for young adults, summer camps for kids and teens, and plans to help feed the needy in the community.
On an uncharacteristically warm June day, several hundred people, including many families with young children, turned out to tour the farm, meet chickens, bake pizzas, pickle cucumbers, make ice cream, and whip up bicycle smoothies — as well as learn a little about the philosophy behind the farm, currently boasting greens, squashes, tomatoes, and other summer crops.
Local urban farming icon Novella Carpenter welcomed the newbies to the neighborhood, along with Assemblymember Nancy Skinner and Councilmember Darryl Moore. Fellow West Berkeley urban farmer Jim Montgomery, who walked his goats over to say hello, was a big hit with the younger set. … Continue reading »
Berkeley’s bicycle boulevards create liveable city
Berkeley’s collection of bicycle boulevards and traffic-calming devices are highlighted in this eight minute film done by Streetfilm.org. A few interesting tidbits gleaned from the film:
- The signs on Berkeley’s bike ways are purple because it is one of the few noticeable colors that traffic engineers hadn’t already used.
- The stencils that identify streets as bicycle boulevards are the same size and color as stop signs painted on the ground. This gives motorists a visual clue to watch out for bicyclists.
- The city embedded magnetic loop detectors in many intersections that change lights from red to green. This means bicyclists have to make fewer stops.
- Bicycles are allowed to do many things that motorists can’t,
- There are around 35 roundabouts in Berkeley and the neighborhood is responsible for taking care of the plants inside the circle. These are just the more recent traffic calming devises used by the city. In the 1980s, numerous bollards were installed in neighborhoods to slow traffic.
Tagged bicycle boulevards
Citizen groups sue city over West Berkeley proposals
Two citizens’ groups have sued the City of Berkeley over proposed zoning that they say would radically restructure West Berkeley.
The Sustainable West Berkeley Alliance (SWBA), an organization of Berkeley residents and businesses, and the Council of Neighborhood Associations (CNA), filed their suit in Alameda County Superior Court under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) on May 11.
The suit concerns proposed Master Use Permit (MUP) sites – developments of more than four acres — and focuses on three aspects: the proposal to increase building height limits from 45ft to 75ft, the impact of taller buildings on residents, and the effect of proposed development on the environmental resources of Aquatic Park. … Continue reading »
Berkeleyan wins cash for recycling, separates trash
A Berkeley resident is among the first to win a cash prize for her impeccable recycling skills.
Deirdre McLoughlin, who lives in central Berkeley, won $50 in the Ready Set Recycle competition organized by StopWaste.Org, an initiative of the Alameda County Waste Management Authority and the Alameda County Source Reduction and Recycling Board.
StopWaste.Org launched the contest on March 31 to run through June. The competition is designed to encourage and reward residents who “properly sort their household waste, placing recyclables in the recycle bin, compostables in the green bin, and as little material as possible into the garbage bin”.
Bay Area residents can prove their worth and win prizes worth up to $500 in the competition. During garbage collection days, the Ready Set Recycle Prize Crew selects random garbage bins and separates the contents into recyclables, compostables, and garbage; the households with the least amount of recyclables and compostables are declared winners.
The Prize Crew notify residents that they are eligible by leaving a “hangtag”on their garbage can with contest information. Multiple winners are selected each week. There have been 25 winners to date, and McLoughlin is one of several from Berkeley. … Continue reading »
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